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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pop — to visit
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bear — the animal
  6. branch — a division
  7. spring — of water
  8. bear — the animal
  9. game — a match
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pop — music
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bass — low music
  20. pop — soda
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. spring — the season
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. vault — in gymnastics

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com